Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009

Compiled from AP, Kyodo

KITCHENER, Ontario — Daisuke Takahashi skated a short program free of major errors Friday to place second at Skate Canada.

Rounding into form: Daisuke Takahashi smiles after finishing his short program at Skate Canada on Friday night. Takahashi is second heading into Saturday's free skate. KYODO PHOTO

Takahashi, who finished fourth in his Grand Prix comeback at the NHK Trophy earlier this month after a lengthy injury layoff, scored 76.30 points.

American Jeremy Abbott leads with 79.00 points, while Denis Ten of Kazakhstan followed Takahashi in third with 75.45.

"It's a shame that I under-rotated my jump. I didn't get the points," Takahashi said of a triple jump that was downgraded to a double early in his program.

"Hopefully I can perform a free skate that will get the crowd going tomorrow," he said.

World silver medalist Joannie Rochette scored a personal-best 70.00 points in the ladies short program, putting her in front of Americans Alissa Czisny and Mirai Nagasu.

Akiko Suzuki, a surprise winner at last month's Cup of China, could only manage eighth place.

"My jumps have felt a bit off key since practice this morning and my uneasiness showed in my performance. Now I have got through the short program (and) I want to feel more comfortable in the free skate," said Suzuki, who scored 53.10 points.

Takahashi, who missed last season due to major surgery on his right knee, will qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Tokyo next month by finishing in the top two, while Suzuki needs to finish fourth or better.

"I still can improve with this, but I'm really excited. It's my first time in the 70s," Rochette said. "It shows me that this program can take me where I want to go."

Czisny, the reigning U.S. champion, scored 63.52 points, while Nagasu earned 56.34.

The free skates are set for Saturday.

World champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany took a commanding lead in the pairs competition, while ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada built a solid lead with the compulsory dance.

Rochette's performance was a turnaround from her short program at Cup of China, where she botched a triple-triple combination she wasn't even supposed to do. It left her in seventh.

"I kind of changed it without my coach's consent," said Rochette, who rallied to take third place. "I really wanted to challenge myself and I did not follow the plan. So that's when I learned the importance of a plan and sticking to it."

Rochette has a triple-triple in her free skate, and routinely lands them in practice. But with no room for error in the short, where skaters must do a set of required elements, coach Manon Peron said it's not worth the risk.

On Friday, Rochette opened with a clean triple lutz-double toe loop combo and later did a triple flip and a double axel. All of her jumps were done with polish and ease.

"She doesn't need it," Peron said of the triple-triple. "In the short program, you cannot make a mistake, so be safe, use the elements that you already have and go and pick up all the points that you can."

Despite the personal best, Rochette said her tango can score even higher. She didn't earn full marks for her spins or spiral sequence.

"My goal tonight when I stepped on the ice was to feel more calm and more relaxed and I achieved that," she said. "I can do better, so it's encouraging for the rest of the season."

Wearing black-and-white makeup on their faces and traditional mime costumes, Savchenko and Szolkowy's "Send in the Clowns" program was a crowd pleaser. They scored 74.16 points, almost 10 ahead of Russia's Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov.

"The performance today was not bad. Actually it was quite good, not perfect," Szolkowy said. "It was a little bit slow, kind of tired, but very concentrated on the elements."

Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison of Canada were well back in third (57.90) after Dube singled a planned triple salchow.

The pairs free skate is Saturday.

Virtue and Moir, surprise bronze medalists at the worlds after missing most of the season because of injury, lived up to their favorites title. The Canadians scored 40.69 points, more than five better than France's Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat.

The original dance is Saturday and the free dance is Sunday.

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